The invention described herein relates to a system and method for providing community web pages, and more particularly to a system and method for simplifying the generation of community practice web pages which are accessible and updateable by a number of parties.
The dissemination of information has become an important priority for many businesses and organizations. As such, these organizations often look to many different types of business tools which may be employed to provide for access to, or routing of, information within the organization. One example of a business tool which provides better access to information, is an internal e-mail system. Through this system, parties may exchange electronic messages. One drawback of e-mail is that it is dependent upon one party taking the affirmative action to reply to messages received.
In addition to providing e-mail, companies may also find it advantageous to provide local repositories for information which may be of interest to a significant number of parties. In the past, this type of information may have been provided through use of a database. Parties seeking the information had to connect to the computer which contained the database and needed the necessary tools then in order to perform a search. In some situations, this could be a cumbersome and quite expensive process.
In more modem times, the Internet, as well as intranets and extranets, have become a more common medium for exchanging information either within the organization, or to locations outside. One tool used in particular with regards to providing access to selected information is the website. A website is a location on a data network, such as the World Wide Web (available via the Internet, an intranet, or extranet) which is accessible remotely and contains information which is viewable through a system user""s personal computer. Links may be included on the home page, which provide access to other repositories of information. Web pages are individually created for particular purposes and access to a particular web page may be limited to selected parties.
The inventor has recognized that one of the disadvantages of using websites to disseminate information, is that they may be time consuming to create, and labor intensive to continually update. Further, posting information on a web page may be a slow process because in most cases a web master which provides an editing point for all information put on the web page. Still further, the inventor has recognized that when the obligation falls on one or two parties to provide for the updating of websites, many websites soon are out of date and merely create noise in the information space.
As such, the inventor has recognized that it would be advantageous to employ a method and system for the automated creation of community of practice websites. Through this automated process, a system user may enter a minimal amount of information and the system will create a website which is accessible and updateable by other members of the community of practice. Further, the website may be constructed in such a manner that after a predetermined period of non-use, it may be placed in an archive until revived at a selected point in time.
Described herein is a system which is connectable to the Internet, an intranet, or extranet, and provides for such functions as creating, viewing, and/or updating websites. The system may be resident on a server type device which has either open or limited access over a data network. Included in the system may be a number of interactive display graphics which are viewable over the data network and may be employed to initiate various automated functions of the system.
One display graphic which may be presented provides for the automatic creation of new web pages. The display graphic may include dialog boxes through which information to be included on the web page may be entered. A first memory may be provided to store this information entered. A second memory may be employed to store at least one website template which may be populated with the information stored in the first memory. Included in the templates may be a number of links to other web pages in the system. When a system user has completed entering the necessary information for creating a website, this information may be entered in the template and the website made available over the data network.
In one aspect of the invention, an additional interface may be provided through which currently active websites on a server may be accessed. The interface may include a listing of the currently active websites along with descriptive information. The display is configured such that a website on the listing may be selected and viewed.
In yet another aspect of the invention, the system may include another interface through which a system user may view websites which have been previously archived. The system is configured to present a listing of deactivated websites, and upon selection, reactivating a particular website.
In operation, a system user may access the server over a data network such as the Internet, or a company intranet or extranet. Once a system user has established a connection, a web page may be provided through which the system user may select a number of modes of operation. If the system user wishes to create a new website, an additional interface is provided through which the system user may enter textual information which is used to populate the website. The entered information may be stored in the first memory and a website template accessed from the second memory. A website may then be constructed using the information stored in the first memory.
The template employed to create the website may automatically include a number of hypertext links which link the newly created web page to other related web pages. These web pages may already exist or they may be web pages which are created during the same process. These linked web pages may include a discussion forum (also known as a bulletin board), a calendar, a document library, a page on which to catalog relevant hyperlinks to other WWW pages, or an automated process page through which a series of screen displays may be presented for performing a number of different functions. When the construction of the new web page is complete, the page is given a URL and made accessible over the data network.
The newly created website may be configured to provide for unlimited access over the network, or security features may be employed to limit access. Limited access can be integrated such that only system users with particular IP addresses may access or it may be password protected. The web page may be further configured such that its various areas and linked pages may be updated by all those who have access to the site. For example, if a discussion link is provided in the website, it may be selected and once that page is accessed, the system users may be involved through various message boards with discussions being carried on. Further, if there is a calendar page, the system user may access this page and perform any updates the user deems relevant. Finally, a system user when accessing the library link may either upload documents to the library or access documents which are currently stored therein.